


Not Quite Home

by Aristo



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Babe Is Doing His Best, Don't Read This, Episode: s01e06 Bastogne, Get Gene Some Gloves, He's So Cold & Precious, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kinda Baberoe, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, My First Work in This Fandom, Not Beta Read, Self-Indulgent, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 16:14:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11604213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aristo/pseuds/Aristo
Summary: “I think – no. I know that if someone called for me right now, I couldn’t bring myself to crawl out of here. It‘s too much sometimes.”“Guess it’s good that nobody’s calling you, then. Huh?”





	Not Quite Home

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry for posting this omfg.  
> It's literal trash.
> 
> I really only wrote this self-indulgently?? I love this pairing so much. I had to.  
> Don't flame me too hard oof.
> 
> On a friendlier note- I would actually really love to roleplay this ship sometime. My kik's Greencollided, if that would interest anyone.

The first blush of a new dawn brushed across the otherwise darkened horizon, heaps of natural light spilling through Bastogne’s spacious woodland. The wee hours of daybreak were always the most glacial. Frost steadily melted, dripping from the thick branches of the trees hanging high above, falling to the snow-clad stretch of land below. Tarps laid over the shallow gullies below, soldiers comfortably piled upon each other within the hidden foxholes. Many huddled together to scrounge up a bit of warmth with the few, extremely thin, blankets there was to spare. Two particular men were propped up lazily, shoulders tightly squashed together to keep them from toppling to the side, or perishing from hypothermia. It was unlikely that either caught much sleep the night prior, the older, a medic, allowing a weary yawn to slip past his heavily chapped lips. With jarred, fuddled movements, the man loosely yanked his weighty bag closer, pulling back the flap to sift through his meager amount of supplies. He swallowed at nothing, shifting anxiously to press his back against the male beside him. The sudden movement earned a puzzled glance, the redhead beside taking note of the uncomfortable atmosphere. 

“You doing alright?” Edward slowly demanded in response, knocking his elbow gently against the other’s spine in an attempt to grab his unusually slipping attention. “Hey. Doc- what is it?”

“Nothin’.” He found himself barking back swiftly, tone rather blunt as he blinked over his shoulder in the younger male’s direction. Their closeness was surprising, with him able to feel Babe’s subtle, yet heated breaths in contact with the nape of his neck. He piped up again, murmuring hoarsely. “Tired, maybe cold. That’s all. Didn't get a damn wink last night.” The statement was only partially a lie. Eugene was exhausted, of course, he was, but the frosted air that surrounded the two was hardly the cause of his restlessness. The pure lack of action bothered the medic more than any chill that lingered. He often acted at the drop of a pin, when needed, but when there were no pins dropping, it tended to make Roe anxious. He was constantly awaiting further disasters to focus on, and as excruciating as many of the tasks were, any ‘peaceful downtime’ was far more nerve-racking.

Somehow, Babe managed an impish chuckle at the half hearted remark, one arm swinging in a scrubby, uncoordinated motion to wrap across his comrade’s shoulders in a secure grip. “Shit. You're shaking like a leaf, Gene,” His Philadelphian accent rolled out as he spoke, soothingly pulling Eugene’s shivering frame closer to himself. “–if it was bothering you that much, you should've told me.” 

After their many nights spent together in that same gully, Heffron knew how easily the Cajun could succumb to the dreadful winters that Belgium had to offer. The poor man did not even wear gloves, finding it more favorable not to dirty such expensive fabric with the blood of the injured soldiers he handled daily. He would have considered such mannerism mildly pathetic if he did not have so much respect for the medic, even in his weaker moments. 

“It isn't just the cold.”

The bitter retort had been unexpected, the corners of Babe’s mouth curling into a meek frown in response. Keeping the same hold, he adjusted, boots scuffling against the dirt beneath him as he maneuvered to ease down beside Roe. More visible where he sat, the brunet appeared rather distraught; darkened, heavy circles formed under his eyes, helmet tilted at an unflattering angle. It was apparent that the older male was beginning to crack under the stress, they all were, but his behavior had taken an extreme turn for the worst. As it seemed, so had his sleeping schedule. Surely, the disheveled sight should not have shot such a gaping hole through the young man's chest, but what could he say? As someone so emotionally driven, he simply couldn't help the undeniable pity he felt.

Their audible breaths filled the uneasy silence the statement had created, Heffron letting out a slight, rasping cough as he brought a hand up to tug his scarf over his nose, features somewhat numb. Usually, it was unusual for Roe to even give him the time of day while they were cooped up together; he was awfully silent, and always had been, often times watching discussions unfold, rather than adding any input.

“Listen, Heffron,” Eugene started, tone painfully dull. He rubbed his bare hands together absentmindedly in an attempt to rake up some heat, momentarily pondering his wording. “I think – no. I know that if someone called for me right now, I couldn’t bring myself to crawl out of here. It‘s too much sometimes.” 

“Guess it’s good that nobody’s calling you, then. Huh?” Came Babe’s casual response, earning an uptight glare from the man beside him. However, it was left without a true reply, only receiving a curt nod as Eugene tucked his knees to his chest to conserve some warmth between them. The fabric of Edward’s sleeve rubbing against his shoulders was no warmer than his own, adding no true comfort on its own. “If you aren't planning on sleeping, just relax for a bit. That’d be enough. We can’t have our favorite medic napping on the job, yeah?” He spoke with mock confidence, tightly holding his breath as the other male shifted against him. It always felt as though Roe was smaller than the majority of them, frailer. Perhaps there was a reason he enlisted as a medic, rather than a trooper.

“It’d be a little easier to fall asleep if you’d quit yapping.”

It only took a few minutes for Eugene to begin slipping in and out of consciousness. The two were propped up against each other, legs a tangled mess, and the elder male’s hands tucked between their bodies to warm himself. Between his own exhaustion, and the soothing grip that fastened around his frame, the brunet could only gather one, meager thought. 

The battlefield was truly beginning to feel like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Told you it was bad!
> 
> Leave some feedback/kudos, please! As my first work on this site, I'd appreciate it.


End file.
